Relationship building between credit union and realtors mutually beneficial

EAU CLAIRE, Wis.- How do you prove your credit union's home loan lending savvy? Easy, just set a goal, work hard and oh yeah, be named the No. 1 home loan lender in the Chippewa Valley for 1999. After five years of retooling its mortgage operations, Royal Credit Union won that honor and is now trying to keep its home lending success rolling. Success didn't come overnight, but with a combination of persistence and planning, RCU has proven itself champion in Chippewa Valley, which encompasses Chippewa and Eau Claire counties. "It took a lot of hard work and all of us pulling together. Once the goal was set, we made promises and we were offered any tools we needed to succeed," said Linda Marincel, RCU's senior mortgage loan originator." The equipment provided to help reach the goal included paying originators commission; utilizing staff incentives; advertising in a monthly multiple listing newsletter; linking to local area realtors from the RCU Web site. Although RCU offers many home loan programs, it doesn't always offer the lowest rates. Yet, in 1999 RCU opened 477 home loans in Chippewa county totaling approximately $33.7 million and 847 home loans in Eau Claire county totaling approximately $64.1 million. So how did the credit union build such a successful portfolio in this electronic age where consumers can scour the Net for the best rates? Apparently it has more to do with conversation than rates. The credit union relied on word-of-mouth marketing to carry the day. Marincel said the CU's strategy was to concentrate on building strong relationships with area realtors. "It is really about communicating and keeping doors open," said Marincel. Building solid realtor relationships wasn't easy. RCU had to do battle with its own past reputation among realtors of not effectively handling their members' home loan needs because of a lack of expertise. RCU made changes. Promises were made to have a specialized real estate department fully staffed with experienced loan professionals. In addition, RCU has held many focus groups to determine the realtors' needs and where RCU needed to improve. "We just kept proving ourselves. We listened and immediately addressed any complaints," said Marincel. This meant not only delivering on its promises but sometimes just asking to be given another chance. "Past problems are not easily forgotten but we've made a decision to have our actions speak for where we are now." According to Marincel, the greatest force in initiating many of the positive realtor experiences has come from its extremely vocal and supportive member base. One member went so far as to insist that his realtor, who had bad mouthed RCU, call and apologize. "Their referrals are really what drew in the realtors so we could talk to them. We really owe them a great deal of thanks." RCU has $433.8 million in assets and serves 84,385 members. -mbourjolly@cutimes.com